The present volume is a biography of Lanier rather than a critical studyof his work. So far as possible, I have told the story in his own words,or in the words of those who knew him most intimately. If I have erredin placing undue emphasis on the early part of his career, it was intentional,for that is the part of his life about which least is known.I have intentionally emphasized his relation to the South, in order to avoida misconception that he was a detached figure. The bibliographies preparedby Mr. Wills for the "Southern History Association" and by Mr. Callawayfor his "Select Poems of Lanier" make one unnecessary for this volume.

Of previously published material, I have been greatly indebtedto the Memorial by Mr. William Hayes Ward, the fuller sketchby the late Professor W. M. Baskervill, and the volume of letters publishedby Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons. For new material, I am indebted,first of all, to Mrs. Sidney Lanier, who has put me in possession,not of the most intimate correspondence of the poet,but of many letters written by him to his father and friends,as well as unpublished fragments and essays. She has done all in her powerto make this volume accurate and trustworthy. Her sons,